E-beam Initiative ready with updated roadmap

MANHASSET, NY -- The latest lithography roadmap from the eBeam Initiative is out this week with specifics at ways to improve wafer yields at upcoming 20-nm and 14-nm technology nodes.

The initiative looks at improving mask accuracy and write times, as well as bend the mask cost curve for electron beam technologies.

At 28-nm and below the 20-nm logic node, mask features are typically smaller than 80 nm in width, which makes mask accuracy and wafer yield increasingly difficult to maintain, according to statements from the initiative. As a result, mask critical dimension (CDU) uniformity has become a much more critical issue.

Electron-beam technologies such as mask process correction (MPC) and others are being guided by initiative members to facilitate a working ecosystem.

"Two of the greatest challenges for mask making starting at the 28-nm node and continuing down to the 20-nm node and beyond are accuracy and shot count,” said Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, Inc., managing company sponsor of the eBeam Initiative. “Mask makers must continually balance the need for accurate masks that result in high wafer yield with the long write-times and high costs of producing the complex masks that provide the needed accuracy.”

The latest initiative statement mentions JEOL, an initiative member and e-beam lithography vendor, who is accepting customer orders with its technology that improves mask CDU. "Whether the semiconductor industry continues to push the limits of optical lithography for the foreseeable future or migrates to EUV lithography, improving mask accuracy will be essential to achieving high wafer quality," said Wataru Wakamiya, corporate officer and general manager of SE Business Unit, JEOL.

During 2012 and beyond, initiative members will collaborate on several proof points demonstrating the progress and readiness of e-beam technology.

The eBeam Initiative roadmap will be presented at the SPIE Advanced Lithography Symposium and a white paper "MB-MDP Enables Circular Shots to Improve Mask Accuracy As Well As Shot Count," will be available at the eBeam Initiative website.

A collaboration between eBeam Initiative members CEA-Leti and Tela Innovations on hybrid lithography using optical and eBeam will also be presented at the SPIE venue.